Nicholas Colloff
Nicholas Colloff is the Executive Director of Argidius Foundation that focuses on enterprise development in Africa and Latin America. Before this, he was Director of Innovation at Oxfam GB and founder of the Small Enterprise Impact Investing Fund, the Regional Director in Eastern Europe & CIS for Opportunity International running a network of microfinance institutions; and, the director of the Andrews Charitable Trust in the UK that was a pioneer in the development of venture philanthropy.

Talking #InclusiveBiz No.1 – Finance and Covid-19

Podcast with Nicholas Colloff (Argidius Foundation) by Lisa Goellert
Finance for Inclusive Business
Global
21. Sep 2020

In the first episode of the iBAN podcast, Nicholas Colloff, Executive Director of the Argidius Foundation, takes a look at Covid-19 and inclusive business. How has the pandemic affected impact investment? What are its long-term effects? And – most importantly – what should inclusive business companies do when they find themselves struggling to adapt?

Key takeaways:

  • Talk to your bank manager
  • Be as transparent as you can be
  • Prepare for a time lag in finance
  • Expect the cooperation driven by the pandemic to create a better ecosystem for inclusive business

Enjoy listening to this insightful podcast episode on SoundCloud!

Also, find herewith an overview of resources that can help you manoeuvre the pandemic, as well as an inspiring example of a company that has been thriving in the crisis. More details are described in the podcast.

  • Growth in time of crisis, Guatemala: Grupo Genesis, a cleaning product and water treatment manufacturer from an Argidius Foundation cohort, has grown significantly in the last three months. Covid-19 created a sharp increase in demand for its products. Hence, the company has grown from 44 employees to 140 and secured a US$650,000 loan. The majority of its recent hires are women. Grupo Genesis is now seeking additional investments totalling US$700,000 for the purchase of new equipment to meet new client demand from the U.S. and EU. It is a partner of BPeace.
  • Survive to Thrive programme of the African Management Institute: a fully virtual programme designed to help businesses and entrepreneurs across Africa navigate the unexpected challenges brought about by Covid-19.
  • CovidCap.Com: a searchable website to help entrepreneurs struggling due to the economic impacts of Covid-19 to locate cash relief resources.